


AND SHORE IS SHOOK BY SHEER ATROCITY

by scamvnder



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-25 13:18:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20724845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scamvnder/pseuds/scamvnder
Summary: A/N: I just really like Arthur Morgan, so here you go! MAJOR SPOILERSthe title is from another Hozier song don’t @ me lmao





	AND SHORE IS SHOOK BY SHEER ATROCITY

It doesn’t matter how many times he leaves, the anxiety you feel while Arthur is gone never wanes. Shady Belle is pleasant enough for a swamp infested with alligators and mosquitoes the size of dinner plates, but what it lacks in charm, it makes up for with security. This is the first time in a long while that you’ve had four walls and a roof over your head, and with the Pinkertons breathing down your necks its about time you had a little more protection than a few caravans and tents can provide. You won’t go as far to say that its better than Valentine or Rhodes. Both places hadn’t been ideal either, but at least you weren’t at risk of becoming some hungry prehistoric beast’s meal (unless, of course, you count Micah). Its bearable, but only when a certain outlaw is around to keep you company. 

“Glad to see you’re back in one piece, Arthur.”

“Well,” he drawls, “jury’s still out on that one, Tilly." 

You hear his voice before you see him. From the sound of it, they’ve all just returned from Bronte’s mansion. After that mess in the city, you didn’t blame them for wanting their revenge, but it seemed foolish to go after the crimelord so soon after shooting nearly half the town and narrowly escaping. Arthur seemed to think so too, however you know that he’ll do as Dutch says, even if he does question it initially. 

Arthur feels like he might collapse. Bronte’s had been a disaster, just as he had predicted. He wants to kick himself for not learning his lesson. Every time a new plan is made, he wants to believe it’ll be the one that works: the one that nobody dies for, the one that makes them all rich and gives them the means to become mango farmers in some tropical paradise like Tahiti. The plan that sets them all free: that sets you free. Some days he feels like you’re the only thing that keeps him going and tonight (Christ, especially tonight) there’s no exception. 

“Arthur,” you greet, and the look on his face sucks the air out of your lungs. You’ve seen him mad before; the kind of mad that would scare anyone else if they didn’t know him; but you know when he yells, when he loses his patience and gets to that point it’s because he cares, but this kind of silent fury is the kind you know to stay away from. The kind that bubbles to the surface, then explodes. Underneath it is something you can’t identify and you’re not sure if that’s more frightening. “Arthur…” you repeat, careful not because you think he’d hurt you but because whatever had made him like this can’t be good. 

“Not here.” He says once he reaches you, and his expression softens into something close to sadness: disappointment maybe, but not quite. It’s taken him a long time to get used to the quiet intimacy you share. There are still moments that catch him off guard, and he’s certain he’ll go the rest of whatever borrowed time he’s got left thinking he’s undeserving of your love. Still, the reprieve he finds in you is one of less than a handful of good things in his life, and he won’t be foolish enough to sabotage himself out of it. 

Arthur leads you inside the house and up the stairs, a hand full of nervous energy guiding you at the small of your back. You don’t say anything until the door is shut behind him, and he stands there like he’s waiting for it: expression pinched, eyes set hard. Reliving what had happened, sorting through memories that only make him more disgusted. 

“What happened?” You won’t ask if Bronte is dead. That’s a given. It’s the in between and aftermath you want to know about. 

You sit at the edge of his bed, patient and waiting. Arthur is filled with the urge to just take you in his arms and lay down, go to sleep and shut out the events of today like they never happened. A peaceful life will never be in his cards, but with you he feels like he might have a chance at real, substantial happiness. If it weren’t for the money and the others that rely on him, he’d be gone and he would have taken you with him. He had been ashamed of it at first, and the part of him that still believes Dutch is who he thinks he is still feels that way, but the night he’s had has changed a lot; is making his reconsider a lot. 

“He fed him to a goddamn alligator,” 

It takes a lot to shock Arthur, to horrify him. This life isn’t for the weak, and in his time running with the gang he’s seen enough bloodshed and violence to make any normal man drop to his knees, but what Dutch had done has left him shaken to the bone. His mentor; the man he’s looked up to, admired, relied on and loved, killed someone with so much cruelty that it made even the hardhearted, notorious outlaws around him watch in disbelief. He understood the need for it, but not in that way. Dutch had crossed a line, and it’s left Arthur questioning everything. 

You realize quick enough who Arthur is talking about and you’re left speechless, staring at him from the other side of the room, a mixture of sympathy and revulsion in your expression. Arthur continues like he needs to get it out, the words vomiting from his mouth without so much as a pause. “Drowned Bronte like a rat, then threw his corpse over the side of the boat. I mean, Christ, the feller needed to die, but like that?” Arthur shakes his head, then brings one of his hands to his face and rubs roughly at his beard. The disgust in his voice and expression is prominent you think that he isn’t done, but then his face falls and he looks as tired as you’ve ever seen him. Tired and fed up of wondering how long this wild goose chase with the law is going to last. 

“’M sorry,” Arthur sighs deeply, “I didn’t mean to unload that on you.” 

“No, I’m glad you told me…” you trail off, still trying to wrap your mind around why Dutch would do something like that. This has been a turning point for the both of you. Arthur doesn’t have to explain anything more to you. You’re okay with whatever decision he makes, just as long as you’re a part of it. “We can talk about it more in the morning. You look like you’re about to fall over.” 

Arthur nods, making the short strides it takes to get over to you. It’s painful to think about how disillusioned he’s been by Dutch, but for right now he’s fortunate enough to have the option not to. 

He’s all you need, and when the day comes that Arthur decides that Dutch isn’t someone he needs, you’ll be there.


End file.
